Colour outside the lines

I,ve spent most of the day preparing prompt cards for the Art Journalling class . Those of you who know me will know I love cards - angel cards playing cards, tarot cards, memory cards, inspiration cards, in fact cards of any shape and size. I love the feel of them and I love to play with them and shuffle them up.
The first set are the colour cards completed from the last class. These are the fronts.

And these are the backs, with each colour represented by meaningful words.

These are the prompts for Sunday. We are exploring feelings and emotions through colour.

These are the fronts of the 32 cards.

and here's the backs. We wont be making these cards in the workshop merely using them as prompts to kick start our imagination and inspiration...

Ok I,m going now, can feel a bit more stroking going on. lmao

Enjoy xx

At last..!!

OMG..!!! I am now on Facebook. It is the end of the world as we know it. lmao. xx

Visit to Our Lady,s Chapel

Just after Mum died me and bezzie Su went for a walk down by Knaresboro river and stumbled across a little chapel carved into the rock. It has been renovated and is only open at certain times of the year. I have a fascination for icons and statues and was dying for it to reopen so that I could investigate further. It opened on Easter Sunday, so we hotfooted it down there. The chapel was carved into the rocks in 1408 and is amazing to see the workmanship.


This is the outside of the chapel. Fabby isn't it..??

It is thought that the statue of the knight is even older than the chapel. He was renovated by the Victorians and given a new face, with the biggest nose imaginable, lol. They covered the area around him with bitumen which is now causing problems to the stone. So they are raising funds to have him properly restored. I love him.

The ceiling is amazing. Where would you even think about starting to carve..??

I love the alter with its carved candles, and I lit a candle for Mum.

The statue of Our Lady in the alcove was a recent commission by well-known Yorkshire sculptor, Ian Judd. , and gives a modern twist. I have to say I have never before seen a chubby representation of Mary.

The surrounding gardens have all been beautifully planted with herbs and flowers. The new flower bed contains only "religious" flowers that tell the life story of the Virgin Mary through the symbolism of plants and flowers, ie Lily of the Valley which is "Our lady's teardrops". There is even one for "Our lady's shoes" which is Aguilegia. I took a photo of it for shoe watch , lol, but unfortunately it was too blurred.

Loved the size of this ivy though on a surrounding fence.

Su and I were discussing whether the fact we loved all this meant we were getting old and sad. But we came to the conclusion that its down to the fact that as you get older your priorities change and your inner values alter. I would have loved to have sat in there and had some serious quiet time. If you get the chance to visit, then I would highly recommend it. You can find more info HEREhttp://www.knaresborough.co.uk/stmaryrcchurch/shrine.html

Dinner with the kids was fab. They all turned up with partners in tow so the house was heaving. Half of them sat at the table inside and the other half at the table outside, and I ran in and out between mouthfuls. Well at least it will have worked off the Yorkshire puddings. Yes I know I cant really eat them , but my body is craving all sorts at the moment so I,m just giving in to it. Luckily I am working from home in the morning as my stomach will be objecting wildly. Still you cant win em all.

Ok need to go now as its Sunday and yes that means my favourite - prison documentaries. Yayy!!

Enjoy xx

Chester's Spring Fling

Forgot to show you this layout I got sent by the lovely Katy Harrison ( I don't actually know her but all my ladies are lovely and I bet she is no exception) lol. Its the first time she has used Blonde Moments and says she loves it. Amazing isn't it that a 4 yr old paper and stamps can still cause excitement in some. I know a lot of you feel that it is all so passe now but just goes to show that one mans poison is another mans meat...!!!

Cool isn't it. Here's a link to her blog, I hope she doesn't mind, lol. Katy . Thanks sweetie for that.

Love to see other peoples work, don't you..??

Well I spent last night snuggled in front of a log fire, very romantic uh..?? Ha ha . I tell you what, I am soooo chilled out today because of it. I,m liking this new regime of making a bit of time for myself, family, friends and possibly significant others. lmao. Got all the kids and partners coming around for big Sunday dinner tonight . Was going to make a start on the housework , but with careful consideration feel that might be better tackled when they,ve all gone again..!!

I,m going to go peel all the veg whilst sat in the garden admiring my pots. How sad am I ..?? lol

Enjoy xx

Colour my world with rowdyness..!!

Ooh ran out of time to post last night, sorry about that. Well Fridays Star Book class was a scream. It was extremely lively to say the least, with some fabby characters on it. Its a good job that I had had some days off and was fully rested. Mind you after it had finished I felt like I needed five more days off..!! lol. They certainly kept me on my toes and if I hadn't kept a tight rein on them we would never have finished. But we had great fun and we laughed all day long, they are the best workshops aren't they..?? When you produce a fabulous product and really enjoy yourself at the same time. Two of the culprits were two lovely sisters Denny and Sue. They are really enthusiastic and excitable and we are going to rename them giddy and giddier..!!! Here's a fab pair of shoes that Sue brought for Shoe watch.

Jimmy Choo - can anyone beat that I wonder...??

Here's the Star Book we were making. The class was a sell out for the second time. Unfortunately it was that busy I forgot all about taking pictures of the students. Sorry girls. Plus I know I said that you were all banned from future classes, I was only joking , you were a delight and a pleasure to teach.

This is the colourway that the students were working with. It is Black Market Paper Society, Lucky in Love the inks are Adirondack Pool and Espresso, Coffee Archival, and the stamps are all from the Tim Holtz range by Stampers Anonymous.

Here it is in another colourway, again from Black Market Paper Society. This one is The Let It Bloom collection. The inks are Adirondack Cranberry and Hazelnut, Distress Faded Jeans and Sepia Archival.

Another Black Market Paper Society range, Letters From Paradise. The inks are Adirondack, Cranberry, Butterscotch and Lettuce, and Olive Archival.

Here's all three colourways together. Amazing how the colours alter the total look, isn't it..??

Talking about colours, here's some more pages from my Colour Art Journal.

First we have Grey. Not a good colour for many but I love working with these tones, so expressive.

Then Yellow, vibrant and fresh.

And lastly Blue, cool and crisp.

Tomorrow I am sticking with the colour them and preparing the next Intermediate Art Journalling class. It is based on emotions and feelings. Love it.

Talking of classes, we have had some sell outs over the last few days and we are nearing capacity on a few more. Be careful that you don't delay and miss out.

The A - Z Of Me on the 9th May is completely full, but unfortunately I don't know how to alter it on the website and I cant get hold of Ben. So even though it is showing available, there are no places left sorry.

We only have 2 places left on next Saturday 25th April 7gypsie Tag Album, and only 4 places left on Tues 25th May, Altered Canvas.

Ok hope you have a lovely Sunday, whatever you are doing

Enjoy xx

Red rubber, red Tab.

Well as you can see the day didn't get off to the best of starts. I really prefer them hard boiled but you cant have it all your own way, can you..??

So was the first day back going to turn into a real nightmare then..?? No not at all, it went like a dream. I had a kids day today and they were fantastic. We did the garden canvas and it didn't faze them one iota. The leaves and vines which in the past have nearly reduced grown women to tears where attacked with vigour. Don't you just love that about kids, you tell them they can achieve something and they don't question you , they just get on with it, lol.Here's the finished results.

Talking of big kids, bezzie Su was lurking in a corner playing...!!

And my able assistant for the day was Ben's girlfriend, the lovely Katie. Thanks darling. xx

The day was topped off by me, Ben and Katie all going out for tea at the fabulous Brios. My fave..!! At the end of the night I was absolutely shattered. This working lark gets to you, doesn't it..?? lmao

Big, big, big delivery came today. Yayys..!! All the restocks of the Tim Holtz stamps are currently gracing the shop. We did have a massive pre-order list and so made sure we ordered tons for you. I cant believe how fast we sell out of these all the time. Mind you , I personally own every one so I know , that" a girls gotta have what a girls gotta have". lol. You can tell how big the order is when I tell you that the customs charge alone would have paid for me a weeks all inclusive in Egypt. The sacrifices I make for you all yeah..?? lmao.

Forgot to tell you , I purchased a real find the other day. A dark wash Red Tab Levi's denim jacket. Love it, love it, love it. I am going to live, breath , eat and sleep in it. Amazing how the little things keep you happy isn't it..??

Enjoy xx

A tribute to Frank

And so the end is near...!!! That's it , the last day of freedom nearly over. And have I enjoyed myself...?? Damn right I have, lol. Even though I am stuffed with a sinusy head cold, which I had mistaken for a hangover days ago. Should have known better.



I spent most of the day lounging around blog hopping. I normally only have the time to quickly whip through my main ones, but once I got started today I just couldn't stop. There is such a wealth of talent out there it is amazing and it is fab that there are so many sharing people. I have always been a big believer in "passing it on". Its nice to be sometimes given a bit of recognition, but on the whole , art is art and there for the enjoying. Don't get me wrong, I still feel that you should always give credit to the artist or tutor that you experienced it/learnt with. If we all pass our knowledge around it will come back to us in plenty of other ways. About a third of my students are tutors who go on to teach many other students, and although it would be nice to be "mentioned" I am well aware that a lot of the time that is not the case. But does it stop me teaching..?? Not one iota.. what goes around , comes around and long may it continue.



Had another Maisie day today. She is a real tomboy and always has to do exactly as her dad. 2 mins before I took this picture she was also pretend nail gunning the new fence.



Here she is measuring the wood for the next piece.

We planted some leftover pansies into her little house. Not sure if they will grow or drown though. There are no drainage holes in this window box and she waters them every 10 mins lol.

After all her hard work she was filthy and dropped straight into the bath, worn out. Doesn't she look angelic...??

5 mins after this she threw the biggest tantrum. Crying ,kicking and screaming!!!

There was a little girl
who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good
She was very very good
And when she was bad
She was horrid.

Just about summed her up today...!!!

Look what I found at home in the cupboard. My "in reserve" set of Karisma pencils. Love em, love em, love em. These will be getting some serious journaling use.

Mind you, look how gorgeous they look. That's always been my problem. They cost me sooooo much that it was always a shame to use them. Watch this space (cough cough ).

So what better way to end my jollies than with my favourite things.

A girly magazine.

Baileys and cream on ice

and of course

The ubiquitous dark chocolate toffees.

If nothing else I did it "My Way" lol

Laters mateys xx